Hearing Impaired, Businesses Hurt by SMS Cap

A man, who hails from northeast India, showed a text message which threatened to kill northeasterners in Bangalore, Aug. 16. The government imposed a limit of five SMSes per day as a result, which was eased to 20, late Thursday.

On Monday morning, as mobile users in India exchanged Eid wishes, many were greeted with the following response:

“Dear Customer! You have sent 5 SMS today. As per instructions from the Government Regulatory, only 5 SMS can be sent per day.”

The Indian government imposed these restrictions last week after mass SMS messages, that warned northeastern Indians of retaliation by Muslims, spread panic in several cities. This came in the wake of communal unrest in the northeastern state of Assam.

While many appreciated the government’s effort to curb panic, others criticized the move, denouncing the widespread inconvenience it caused. Some saw it as evidence of the government restricting freedom of speech.

But as calm was restored among northeastern migrants and voices against the SMS cap grew louder, late Thursday the government announced that the limit would be lifted from five to 20.

The move was met positively by most mobile phone users. “Five was pushing it too far but 20 SMSes suit me just fine,” said 19-year-old Sehar Mirza, a student at Delhi University.

Others agreed. “It’s only during festival time that I exceed more than 20 SMSes in a day,” said 16-year-old Anushka Mishra. “I have little to complain about,” she added.

But for some, the restrictions are still extremely problematic. They include the hearing impaired, who rely heavily on text messages to communicate with friends and family.

“How does the government expect us to inform family members of our whereabouts,” said Ashok Kumar, a 24-year-old hearing impaired NGO worker, communicating with the help of an interpreter.

Mr. Kumar, who on an average sends up to 80 text messages in day, slammed that the government’s move as “shortsighted.”

The move has taken a toll on businesses, too. Companies that rely on bulk messaging for marketing purposes – the kind that clog your SMS inbox with real estate offers and career training services– say 20 a day is not enough.

“A restriction is a restriction, no matter what it may be,” points Kishan Reddy, a consultant at Hyderabad-based bulk services provider SMSCountry Networks Pvt. “Five or 20 — It really doesn’t change much,” he adds. The firm’s monthly profits, he says, have already been slashed by over 50% as a result.

Things are no different at New Delhi-based mass solutions provider MySMSMantra. “We’ve lost out on business worth seven to eight lakhs this week alone,” says Bhavya Mohapatra. (This is equivalent to 700,000 to 800,000 rupees, or between $12,000 to $14,000.) The firm, she adds, earns a significant chunk of its profits during festivities, including Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan.

Navin Anand, who runs a mathematics coaching centre in Noida, says that operations have been “chaotic” throughout the week as they cannot update students with class schedules. “Timings for classes change each day,” he notes, adding that sending group SMSes was how they kept their students in the loop. “What will 20 SMSes do when I have batches of 150 students each day?”

The government said the restrictions, which apply to an estimated 610 million pre-paid mobile users, will be in place for two weeks, until Sept. 1.